Worst Dorms

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dorms have gotten too nice.

I don’t think there should be filth, pests, and vermin but a college student doesn’t need a juice bar and sushi chef in their dorm building.

Problem is, the elite schools are selling access to an elite social network. If the dorms aren’t up to snuff, the rich kids move out into housing that is. And then what is the elite school selling?

[Anonymous]

Brown and Colby both have crappy dorms

[Anonymous]

Northwestern has had some dumps but is supposed to be improving the situation. I was revolted by the living conditions when my kid was there 10 yrs ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What are UCLA dorms like? They didn’t show any dorms on the tour. We liked the UCLA vibe…until they mentioned housing. Triples “guaranteed” all four years.

There’s no way they want to show potential students and their parents “forced triples”, which are dorm rooms designed and built to be doubles but because of lack of dorm space they have converted into triples.

So now almost all freshman ate in triples unless they have some type of accommodation/ athlete/ special circumstance.

Freshman classic dorms at UCLA Standard measurements for Hedrick, Rieber, Sproul, and Dykstra Halls are 12’5'' L X 10’6'' W which is 130 square feet.
https://ask.housing.ucla.edu/app/answers/detail/a_id/539/~/square-footage-of-rooms-in-on-campus-housing

[Anonymous]

Wow. NYU had great dorms when I was there a zillion years ago - mine was a converted hotel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Harvard freshmen dorms are lovely from the outside - charming quad! - but disgusting on the inside. Mold, roaches, mice.

The quality of the dorms varies widely. Mather is terrible - high rise heat trap with no ac; rats and mice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Inspired by the "Boston University Guaranteed Transfer" post ( https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/15/1264907.page ) which included this lovely photo of a transfer dorm room (linked below), which colleges have the worst dorms? Photos welcomed.

https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/ratemydorm-7bc3c.appspot.com/o/user-photos%2FR9CEwmm7BcgGwuAys3Tdn4Lw3sa2%2FR9CEwmm7BcgGwuAys3Tdn4Lw3sa2-IMG_1019.j-1678822937231?alt=media&token=a61b85ca-7730-4a4e-a280-7d7c314e4785

BU has nice facilities. Even brownstone!

And renovations have happened including entire buildings.

But somebody's gotta troll.

I’m not the OP. BU does have some nice facilities. It also has complete $hit holes. My kid was in the dorm that picture was taken in. It’s completely real. Shared hallway bathroom for rooms without a suite bathroom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What are UCLA dorms like? They didn’t show any dorms on the tour. We liked the UCLA vibe…until they mentioned housing. Triples “guaranteed” all four years.

So UCLA has 4 years of guaranteed housing and just switched the majority of on-campus dorms and some of the university owned apartments to triples to be able to continue to guarantee 4 years of housing for everyone. They are small and it's a bummer that sophomores and up have to deal with that. With that said, the dorms themselves are all fine to very nice. My daughter was in a classic triple this year and it was small, but had a nice view all the way to the ocean. They often left their windows open and had a nice breeze. There are lounges on many floors where kids can hang out and tons of eateries. UCLA is nice in that all the housing is in the same general area on "the hill" and has gyms, a swimming pool, dining halls all right there. They also have university-owned off-campus housing where most Juniors and Seniors live in a variety of rooming combos. And they also have plenty of off campus housing in apartments, fraternity/sorority houses, etc.

There are photos/videos online on the UCLA website and instagram showing the inside of the dorms.

UCLA will be the Olympic Village in summer 2028 so that's pretty cool too.

[Anonymous]

Pretty sure the following also have triple dorm rooms for at least some freshmen:
UCSD
Wisconsin
Purdue
Boston College (the tour guide even said they had quads!)

Can anyone add to this list?

[Anonymous]

Skidmore has triples for freshmen

[Anonymous]

When I was at Brown Dhani Harrison famously decamped from his dorm room for the Biltmore Hotel downtown.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Harvard freshmen dorms are lovely from the outside - charming quad! - but disgusting on the inside. Mold, roaches, mice.

The quality of the dorms varies widely. Mather is terrible - high rise heat trap with no ac; rats and mice.

Most New England dorms don't have a/c. My Harvard freshman dorm, Lionel, was small but very nice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Skidmore has triples for freshmen

I think any school with forced triples should automatically go to the top of the list. Miserable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When I was at Brown Dhani Harrison famously decamped from his dorm room for the Biltmore Hotel downtown.

Iconic move.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Skidmore has triples for freshmen

We recently toured Skidmore and saw the triple dorm (flanked by 2 singles and a shared bath). I couldn’t tell if the room was a “forced triple” or originally meant to be a bigger room or shared living space?